A tract wound is an externally accessible, elongated wound in the soft tissue of the body, often the result of a progressively developing infection. When the skin is broken, as by a cut or an external ulcer, and infection develops, the infection can proliferate randomly through the tissue to form a bending, tortuous tunnel. Tract wounds are a common post-surgery complication, particularly after open-chest surgery. It is important that a tract wound be debrided with an antiseptic solution promptly upon discovery to prevent the infection from spreading so that the wound can heal. Tract wounds also are common with patients having poor circulation, hepatitis, AIDS or other conditions in which the patient's ability to overcome the infection is subnormal.
Tract wounds typically are treated by physical therapists. Among the procedures for treating tract wounds involves simply bathing the patient in a whirlpool bath. That procedure is generally ineffective, particularly with relatively deep tract wounds, because the bath water usually cannot reach the deepest part of the wound where infectious material resides and can proliferate.
In another procedure, intended to treat the deep region of the wound a rigid elongate tip of a bulb syringe, filled with irrigation liquid, is inserted into the tract wound and is advanced until significant resistance is felt by the therapist. The resistance may suggest to the therapist that the tip is positioned at the deepest part of the wound. The bulb then is squeezed to force irrigation liquid into the tract wound. Debris and spent irrigation liquid may be withdrawn through the rigid tip when the bulb expands.
In still another similar irrigation procedure, a rigid tip having suction and irrigation lumens is advanced through the tract wound until significant resistance is felt. Irrigation liquid then may be delivered from an external reservoir, through the irrigation lumen into the wound. The suction lumen is connected to a suction source to simultaneously withdraw debris and spent irrigation liquid from the wound.
Although a significant improvement over the whirlpool procedure, the latter procedures may not effectively remove infectious material and other debris from the deep regions of a tortuous tract wound because the stiff tip cannot be maneuvered past the sharp bends. Resistance to tip advancement caused by the bends may be mistaken by the therapist to indicate that the tip is positioned at the deepest part of the wound. Consequently, infectious debris may remain in the deepest region of the wound, enabling the infection to proliferate and make the wound even deeper. Another difficulty with the use of the above tips is that the interior walls of a tortuous tract wound may be further traumatized when the tip is forced through the wound. Moreover, where the patient usually is awake during such procedures, such trauma may cause significant discomfort.
It would be desirable to provide an irrigation device and procedure that may effectively debride the deeper parts of a tract wound, including tortuous wounds. It also would be desirable for that device to be used without causing further tissue trauma and discomfort to the patient. It is among the overall objects of the invention to provide such a devices and methods.